What Came First Your Breed Or Your Sport

[Agility Dogs]

This is just a bit of fun and I was interested after I commented in a thread that if I had my time over I would not start agility with a BC.

The fact is I would because (outside a Kelpie which I'm not allowed to have) BC's are my breed and I don't really want another one. It would just have been easier with another breed.

BUT, I have progressed from just getting a dog to have a dog (Xena - pet shop) to getting a dog bred to be a good pet from a breeder I know has a good reputation and longevity in her lines (CK) to seeking out a breeder I wanted to get a dog from to play agility (Wikki). I still haven't gone to the lengths that some do and purchased soley for performance, but Wikki was sold as a performance prospect, she just happens to be the breed and look that I like.

How did you come to live with your dogs and what helped you make that decision?

Oh - and just for laughs - how into your dog sport are you?

I'm addicted - but I think my life is balanced.

[leopuppy04]

Hmmm I don't think i fall intonanymonemcategory on it's own.

I was looking for a pup and I really wanted an Aussie because I loved to breed etc etc. Agility or obedience wasn't 'high' on my list but I wanted a breed that incould 'try' it with.

I chose my breeder coz I liked the look of her dogs, i liked their temperaments and my breeder and I just clicked .

Leo is an awesome dog to start a sport with. Not too fast, but fast enough to be comPetitive especially in the lower classes. He's biddable and willing to learn anything. Yet he's not a dog who will make up his own course or that you loOSS control over :D

Kinta came next and was chosen for a higher drive but also for show.

Zara was chosen for show and also for my dad.

Tahli was chosen for show and for her higher drive etc.

So what I was lpoking for changed slightly each time i went lpoking! I haven't been disappointed yet!

[MolassesLass]

No option for me in the first bit. I got my first dog because I wanted a dog; I wasn't really aware sports existed, it certainly wasn't the reason I got a dog or the breed I got.

Got into sports from meeting people doing them at obedience (which I just somehow knew every dog had to do).

Two years ago I would have said terminally addicted, but aging dogs and big vet bills have seen me give them all, so not at all any more.

[Tiggy]

I love my breed first, if we can have some fun together in the dog sports that's a bonus. I wouldn't be without an SBT and I can't imagine I would ever get a breed specifically with dog sports in mind, I did however get my newest addition from a breeder who breeds the type I was after which is a more active/agile dog and I'm hoping he'll be a great little agility dog .

[The Spotted Devil]

I was still living at home with Mum and Dad (in WA) when I saw an agility demonstration at Perth's Royal Show. I thought to myself that our 2 year old ACD, Dolly, could do all that standing on her head. I was right I joined an obedience club and we were out on the main arena doing agility demos with the club 12 months later. Dolly gained her CDX title and 2 legs of her AD before I retired her. Agility was very different back then and she just couldn't cope with the size of the spread. I was a pretty crappy trainer and it was very old fashioned paddock bashing, correction based training. Dolly was devoted to me but I never even got close to tapping her potential. The turning point for me was seeing Sue Hogben compete in the obedience ring with one her Goldens: Dancingate Golden Tonka. Glorious, bouncing, happily working dog - I knew there had to be another way...

I had the pleasure of Dolly's company for 17 years. When she passed away I had my heart set on a male Golden Retriever - I couldn't have another ACD as I was afraid of always comparing them with Dolly. Then I thought about getting a challenging dog....maybe a Setter? Had to be something elegant and handsome but dog sports were always at the back of mind. I was talking with a work colleague about breed choices and she told me about her 2 Dalmatians. I laughed and commented on how stupid they were :D She told me to ring her breeder....I did and the rest, as they say, is history

Then a few years ago I ran one of Lablover's dogs in a retrieving trial - I had a ball and ran him again at the Easter Trial in Novice and Restricted. We had 6 runs per day for 3 days so it was a real crash course and LL was competing with her other dogs in All Age so I was on my own essentially. I was hooked! When it came time to consider my next pup I remembered that I'd always wanted an ESS as a kid (the ears :D) - LL quickly educated me as to the differences between show and working lines and suggested I speak to her friend who breeds them. I'd always planned to do obedience and agility with her as well but retrieving will be the biggest challenge as the breed is more commonly used in field trials.

I was pretty full on with my ACD but my Dally has taught me balance in training and competing - you can't ask too much from him or he will shut down. Keep him fresh and keen and he will work his Spotted Heart out. Time will tell with Miss E. I seem to be a bit of a breed tart ;)

[DeltaCharlie]

I've always loved Border Collies, even as a child although Id never had a lot to do with them LOL, something about them just kept saying pick me pick me

I couldn't have a dog growing up so it wasn't until I moved in with my ex when I was about 20 that I got my first dog, Cody. My life probably didn't suit a BC at that time and had he come from someone who screened puppy buyers I may not have even be able to get him, but I was determined to own this breed that I had always desired and was prepared to change my life in whatever way necessary.

Ive always been an incredibly active person so that part was easy, and I quickly grew to love our daily walks and playing fetch, soccer, etc. When he was 9months old I discovered a local obedience club and we started going to weekly classes. They also ran agility classes so when he was about 14 months old we checked those out too.

From that moment on I was hooked. Just before he turned 2 I got Delta with agility in mind. 3 weeks later he was killed by a car and I started looking for a second dog, which is where Charlie came along. He was 2 years old (I didn't want 2 puppies at once) but he wasn't as keen on agility as I would have liked. He loved tennis balls so I set out tofind a sport he would love... and along came flyball :D

I will never be without a BC and I couldn't imagine ever wanting any other breeds. My flatmate has 2 terriers (along with our 6 BCs and Charlie) and while they are great little dogs, they just aren't a BC :D

[JulesP]

I got Border Collies because I liked them. I do sports mainly to keep them entertained All of my dogs have been chosen as pets not on any potential sporting ability. I have a play and see if they like a sport, if they don't then I don't care.

Poppy was pretty good at agility but I didn't feel her heart was in it, not like obedience. And herding is her absolute fav thing in the world.

Brock is a big sooky boy and his fav thing is smooching people. He had fun doing agility, I might take him back this year. He is really too slow to compete though.

I would always get the dog I liked rather than one to do the sport.

ETA: I originally went down to obedience training because my Mum had always taken the family dogs down to training, so it was just something that you did.

Edited January 25, 2011 by JulesP

[huski]

We got Daisy as a pet for my mum, because she wouldn't let me have another Siberian. We realised pretty early on she was a real handful and so I took her along to obedience club for training when she was around five months old. I left the first night in tears because she was the worst behaved dog on the whole paddock I persevered although by the time Daisy was two we weren't making a lot of progress, so I found a method of training that worked for us, with the eventual goal of wanting to get more serious about obedience.

Now we are competing in obedience and doing ok, we've also just started agility, not bad for a dog who I didn't start training properly until she was two years old and who isn't exactly a popular choice of breed for dog sports. I am very grateful though because even though Daisy can be a real challenge, I have learnt so much, and I think I've definitely become a better handler because of her.

Now I am in the process of thinking about getting a different breed (I will definitely have another beagle again at some point) and getting one I can do dog sports with has been a big part of how I choose my next dog but it's not everything, I have to have a breed I'm happy to live with first and foremost.

ETA: Oops, meant to add that I think I am totally addicted, but it doesn't consume my life.

Edited January 26, 2011 by huski

[RallyValley]

I was the opposite! I started with a BC and have changed breed!

I had Lilly as a 7 year old, she was a very mixed breed, we have videos of me and my friends at 10 doing 'showjumping', 'dressage' and 'chase me charlie' with the dogs.... had someone known to point me in the direction of an obedience/agility club that would have been awesome!

When I got Jack (a border collie impulse pet shop dog)I took him to puppy classes because Lilly was a bit DA, at the puppy classes the teacher gave a handout of local obedience and agility clubs. From puppy classes I waited until Jack was 12 mths and went to the agility club and we did agility up to the pre trialling novice class, I was 15 then. My parents made me stop agility while I did my high school leaving exams and in my first year of uni just as I was enquiring about starting it up again Jack was hit by a car and died

I now have a dog that has more problems then I have fingers and we are working on issues and sports he can do (tracking, endurance test, Rally-O). My next dog breed is chosen with what I want to do in mind (showing, agility, utility gundog test ect) however temprament is the most important.

One day in about 5-10yrs from now I am getting a breed that is highly un-suitable for sports (an English Setter!) and I will just try and see what I can do but also know going in that it may not be much .

[TerraNik]

I think it all started with my first dog, Toby (a beagle!)... I was 12 and I took him to Obedience classes. I absolutely LOVED it but it never really went any further than going up a few grades. I also remember fashioning jumps out of wood to do some agility with in the backyard... But then I became a teenager and kinda forgot about all of that.

Fast forward to 3 years ago -- I was in a position to get a dog and decided on a Keeshond. I had read that they were pretty intelligent and decided I wanted to trial in Obedience with him. Once he arrived, he exceeded my expectations with his training and I knew that we would achieve our goal so then I started to think about expanding our repertoire and started agility training with him. We also do Flyball, which I had sworn I would never do, but was addicted after one training session.

So I think Jedi was the turning point for me.

I think I can safely say that dog sports rule my life (outside of work/uni)... But I wouldn't have it any other way! There is rarely a weekend that goes by without a trial of some sort (and if it's not a trial, it's a dog show)!

[FHRP]

My story is pretty similar to your AD, although I don't stick to one breed

My first dog was a hasty puschase just to have dog. The second was researched and from a registered breeder (Flynn, Vizsla). I did have in mind some obedience for him, and the breeder suggested retrieving as he was a very active pup. We discovered agility and became addicted. My next pup (Rogan, Vizsla) was purchased with agility in mind and I sought the breeding due to what the dam had produced before performance wise. I then got into retrieving trials with Rogan, Flynn was a complete failure there and my next pup (Polo, GSP) was purchased from working lines to do retrieving and field work. We're playing in agility, but my next dog will be more physically suited to the sport.

Although I have purchased my pups with sports in mind, it is only with breeds that I already like for other reasons. If I was getting a dog purely for agility, I'd look at the working breeds and if I was getting a dog purely for Retrieving I'd get a Labrador again (my first dog was a Lab). But, I love the breeds I have and appreciate them as my pets first.

[Staranais]

Not sure if I can answer - my dog is in training for work, not sport (although I may do some tracking and possibly Ob with her later).

I picked her specifically for work. I love her to bits but she's pretty high maintenance, so if I didn't have work for her to do I'd possibly have picked another breed instead (maybe a bull breed). I got into the work via my other hobbies (hiking lead to being a SAR volunteer, and that has lead to attempting to qualify my dog in canine SAR). It hasn't taken over my life, but is definitely a large commitment. But then again, so is doing SAR with no dog.

Edited January 26, 2011 by Staranais

[sheena]

I became addicted AFTER we got Bindi (BC)....not just the agility thing, but the whole world of dogs & training. I did tick "consumes my whole life", but that is not quite true...I do make time for otherthings like holidays, grandkids & medical appointments etc, but only AFTER I have consulted my calander for agility events. Of course, training classes sees us drive 1hr every Monday night, rain, hail or shine. It seems that just about everything we do has to fit in with Bindi

[Tassie]

I grew up with dogs, but then for a long time as an adult wasn't in a situation where I could have one. So I was a very mature age entrant ...

:D My first dog - Kelpie/BC cross - called Jess, as many B/W sheepdogs were then, after the bitch in Footrot Flats - led me to my local training club - old style paddock bashing - but I liked the idea of competitive obedience. In those days in Tas you had to have a pure-bred dog to compete , so after flirting with the idea of a Golden, decided they were just a tad big, and got my first BC.

Sam was a big boy, and I made lots of mistakes with him - but he forgave me. We got up to UD - got one UD pass ;) ;) - and also got TD with him. Agility came on the scene, and I played with it with a friend and her Goldens - but in those days he would have had to jump 760 at the back of the big triple spread - too much for him, so we didn't get to compete until the jump heights came down by which time he was about 12. He still had fun though.

By this time I was instructing as well, at the local dog club. I still am instructing, though I've changed clubs to go to a club with a more open and motviation-oriented philosophy.

When Sam died unexpectedly, I got a BC from a breeder whose dogs I admired - one in particular was a great show and performance dog. My girl is a granddaughter of that dog - and her mum is an obedience/tracking/herding dog. I also got a boy with some performance background.

Those two have led me into a wonderful world of agility, tracking and a little bit of dances with dogs. And Kirra led me to working on a friend's sheep farm for a while, after we'd learnt to work sheep reasonably competently. (I had retired from teaching at that stage.)

As I realised I wanted to travel to compete and to go to some great dog training seminars and camps, I went back to work as a Library Technician in my previous school - to earn pin money to support our expensive habits. :D That means no time for sheep but still enjoying our other sports. SHould add that obedience is not Kirra's thing - she doesn't believe in it ;) .

When Fergus died from an accidental poisoning, I had to get another boy BC for me and for Kirra, and was lucky enough to get my gorgeous Rory boy from WA. I was buying him as a performance prospect - solid background there - but in fact he was show quality, so I've been able to dip a toe into another aspect of the dog world while he was growing up. Now he's 2 and a third, and has his Ch (good boy) we're now going to work seriously on his various sports.

Coming into the dog sports world at a mature age :D it wouldn't have made sense for me to be looking for one of the really high drive performance dogs - they're really not my style. My guys are pets first and foremost, so I like them to be fairly chilled and easy to live with, but at the same time, be happy to fire up and enjoy doing stuff.

I've been incredibly lucky with my dogs, and am thankful to their breeders - and thankful for all the good friends we've made.

Balanced - hmm - well I did say yes, but .... maybe not so much

[kathq]

Got my first dog - red dobe cause I fell in love with a neighbours male and my OH agreed on the proviso that a dog that big had to be trained so off I went to club training and the rest is history. I firmly believe that yes I am addicted but balanced - non dog people may not agree

Chose my current two (GSPs) as wanted something slightly smaller than a dobe now I'm an "old" woman and also something easier to train . Did a lot of research and went to a breeder with a proven record in the trial ring. Still they are both pets and house dogs not only performance dogs and I wouldnt want it any other way. Pretty sure the next pup will also be a GSP hopefully as much an all rounder as Coco

[Tay.]

Well I guess my retriever was my start in dog training, but not so much sports. Then I got my BC (because I thought they were pretty :D) and went through all the dog school grades and ended up in the obedience ring. Agility came next, which is my addiction

I definitely fell in love with the breed before the sport.

But now my future puppies will be chosen with sports in mind

[Cleo's Corgwyn]

I'd grown up with Rhodesian Ridgebacks, and always enjoyed the training aspect (frustrating though that may be with a RR ) So after having gone for aquite a few years unable to have a dog, when I was finally in a position to have my own agan, a breed that I could get into training with was one of my criteria, as well as wanting a small - medium sized breed. I researched and narrowed down my list, met dogs at shows and obedience clubs, and absolutely fell for the Cardigan Corgi!

I wanted to do dog sports, but purely for fun. So my girl is a pet first, but doing quite nicely in obedience and now DWD. We dabble in agility and have just been certified as a therapy team. I'm an obedience instructor (ably assisted by Shandy!) and we have lots of fun with whatever we do. My next dog will also be a Cardi, as the breed suits us so well as a pet, but will be chosen even more with sports in mind.

[SmoothieGirl]

I answered the poll with herding in mind rather than obedience. I've always loved obedience and that was partially why I gravitated to a working dog, as I wanted a smart dog but relatively easy to train. Then I heard about this herding thing for people without vast tracks of land and flocks of sheep. Bronte's aptitude for it now has me hooked and we have added that to our ever growing dog sport list.

I think the thing with us is that I don't have just one dog sport addiction, I like many, and luckily Bronte is very adaptable and a good all rounder, so we can do a bit of most things, rather than just commit to one. I think I like my animals like that, my best horse was an excellent all rounder too.

[Guest Clover]

My dog (Clover Rotti x, so not realy built for sports) came first then came the sports. I got 'told' i was coming to Flyball training one night instead of the Ob trialers class i had turned up for, the rest is history .

[Paulp]

Ebon, a lab X golden retriver, is my first dog so I dutifully took him off to obedience school. I got right into the obedience and had him just about ready to start trialling when I decided to give him a try at flyball. He turned out to be a natural and I never ended up taking him obedience trialling.